


in the familiar after

by lovebeyondmeasure



Series: zvezda moya [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Fluff, F/F, Ficlet, Morning After
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 06:50:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13266009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovebeyondmeasure/pseuds/lovebeyondmeasure
Summary: When spies discover they’re having emotions of their own, they have to be allowed to process them in their own time.





	in the familiar after

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Crimsoncat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crimsoncat/gifts).



> Crimsoncat prompted something else, but this is what happened. Just one morning, of many mornings, between two women in a delicate kind of love.

Waking up next to Natasha was a new experience every time. 

It had taken a while to reach the point where they spent the night- that is to say, that Natasha spent the night, because they always ended up at Maria’s place anyway, unless they ended up in a closet or an unused office or a safehouse or a hotel room. But after a few months of that, Maria had started leaving casual hints that she was welcome to stay, and slowly, Natasha started staying.

Now, Natasha had a toothbrush in the holder by the sink, and Maria had two pillows with more red hairs than brown woven into the pillowcases.

But regularity was not the same as routine, as Maria well knew, and even when Natasha stayed the night she was never sure how the morning would go.

Sometimes, Natasha would be gone before sunrise, and others she would make a hearty Russian breakfast (or French, or American, or once Chinese) before drawing Maria back into bed for another round (or two, or three). 

Sometimes, she awoke to a red head tucked against her back, and others Natasha would be curled away from her. But she stayed. She stayed. And Maria had decided to be okay with that. When spies discover they’re having emotions of their own, they have to be allowed to process them in their own time.

Maria knew that better than anyone.

So when she awoke, pleasantly sore and mouth tasting faintly, still, of mint, Maria stretched luxuriously and told herself that whatever she'd been given was enough. 

When she opened her eyes, Natasha was laying on her side of the bed, head propped on one arm, gazing with sharp eyes at Maria.

“Good morning,” Maria murmured, pleased and trying not to show it too much. She didn’t want to scare Natasha away.

“You’re awake,” Natasha said, reaching with her free hand to smooth some of Maria’s stray hairs back from her face.

“I am,” Maria replied, turning her face into Natasha’s slightly callused hand, basking in the attention. “You’re still in bed.”

“Yes,” Natasha said. “Should I not be?”

“You know,” Maria sighed, as Natasha traced her fingertips down Maria’s sharp jaw, “that you’re always welcome to stay with me. We don’t even-” she gasped, just slightly, as Natasha’s fingers slid slowly down her sensitive neck. “-don’t even have to, ah, do this.”

“Do what?” Natasha asked, fingers tracing a gentle line across one clavicle. “Have sex?”

“No,” Maria said, and she was loose-limbed, eyes heavy with relaxation and desire. “We don’t have to.”

“What if I want to?” Natasha arched one perfect brow, and Maria licked her lips. 

“You know I’ll never say no to you,” she said.

“Not even when you should?” Natasha asked, and her hand was still moving but her eyes were- cold, or calculating, or conflicted, and Maria was-

“Would you ever hurt me?” Maria asked, quietly, no judgement in her voice.

“Not if I had any other option,” Natasha said after a slow beat. “Not if there were any other way.”

And Maria felt a pang in her heart at this admission, this truth.

“You don’t lie to me, and you won’t hurt me,” Maria said. “So what reason could I have for saying no to this?”

Natasha was silent for a while, and Maria let her, and she let their bodies communicate in ways that their mouths alone just wouldn’t allow.

In the familiar after, Maria pushed back a lock of Natasha’s heavy hair and smiled. 

“I’ve told you before, you’re always welcome here, and not just in my bed.”

Natasha turned her face, echoing Maria’s earlier motion, pressing into Maria’s hand.

“I do not deserve you, _zvezda moya,_ ” she said quietly. 

“Maybe not,” Maria said, sighing, laying back on her pillows. “But you don’t have to.” After a moment, she said, “You know, I’ve never asked. What does that nickname mean?”

“ _Zvezda moya_? It is Russian for, ah. My star,” Natasha said, and Maria could see her embarrassment, and it struck her how safe Natasha must feel here, that she would show her emotions so openly.

“That’s beautiful,” Maria said, reaching for Natasha’s hand. 

“You are beautiful,” Natasha replied, leaning down to kiss her mouth, her cheek. “My star.”

Maria sighed. Natasha carefully tucked herself along Maria’s lithe body, weaving herself into the spaces Maria easily made for her, their bare skin sticking and pressing.

Stroking Natasha’s hair, Maria turned and pressed a kiss to her forehead.


End file.
